The gymnasium was quiet as Arthur and Mrs. Auclair stood across from one another with their teammates at the ready. It The weekend seemed to go by in the blink of an eye and before anyone knew it, the time for testing had arrived. Having passed the written test on Friday, the students now faced the early practicum part of the exam that Mrs. Auclair decided to hold Monday. Today's test involved fighting under less than advantageous circumstances. 

        "Alright my young protege's, today's test is quite simple. All you need to do is hold your own for three minutes and apply what you've been taught so far. You don't necessarily need to win, but bonus points will be awarded if you manage to do so," Mrs. Auclair stated as she expanded an Great Ball in her hand and tossed it onto the field. 

        Roaring out of his ball was a hulking panda-like Pokémon with a bamboo shoot in his mouth. His dark eyes anchored into a scowl as he stared down Arthur. The youth swallowed a lump in his throat as he stared at the monstrosity across from him. This felt more like a final exam than a practice test. Fortunately for him, all he needed to do was hold out long enough to give it a good fight. 

        "Finn, engage!" Arthur called out, firing Finn's sphere onto the battlefield. 

        The Virtual Pokémon soared out of its capture device and hovered over the arena, its sensors scanning the perimeter before locking onto Pangoro.

        "I see you took the liberty of evolving it. This might make for a more interesting fight with that being the case," Mrs. Auclair chuckled, "now why don't you start us off?"

        "Okay," Arthur replied nervously, taking a deep breath to shake off the nerves. "Finn, Signal Beam!" 

        Finn converted itself into its fighter jet mode, rearranging its coding to complete the transformation before taking off toward the ceiling. Pangoro stood patiently, his eyes trailing upward as Finn took a nose dive his way. Deploying from Finn's wings were what appeared to be cannons. A bright green light shone within. Two quick laser-beams of emerald energy burst forth from the barrels, carving through the air towards Pangoro who remained still until they came within range. With a sweep of his arm, he batted both beams toward the ceiling, dispelling them completely. Finn soared around Pangoro, continuing to fire off shot after shot. 

        "Protect!" Mrs. Auclair called out. 

        Pangoro threw up an green, spherical globe around himself, warding off the barrage of Signal Beams targeting him. Meanwhile, the students watched, perplexed at the fact that Arthur was putting so much pressure on Mrs. Auclair. 

        "Very good Mr. Herrick. Very few students make it difficult enough that I have to use that. I commend you for your efforts thus far," Mrs. Auclair praised him. 

        "Thank you, but I think we both know that you didn't really need to do that," Arthur said, having watched observantly. 

        "Guilty, I suppose. That still doesn't change the fact that you applied the right amount of pressure for where any other trainer would have needed to use that countermeasure. Shall we continue? Pangoro, Bullet Punch!" 

        "Thunderbolt!" Arthur countered.

        Pangoro encased his fist in a silver aura, bolted forward, traveling remarkably fast for something so bulky, and connected a series of metal-infused punches to Finn's body before bringing a glowing white arm down upon Finn's head, aiming to hammer it into the ground. Pangoro's arm just missed the mark as Finn multiplied itself via a Double Team command hastily shouted by Arthur. Pangoro's attack created a shock wave as it hit the ground. Standing up, Pangoro turned in time to see Finn launch a Thunderbolt in his direction, zapping him in the stomach and causing him to stumble backward. 

        Arthur glanced at the timer that had been set. There was about a minute left. He was nearly there. All he had to do was keep Pangoro busy for a little longer and he'd pass. It became clear what he needed to do at this point, and it was going to involve quite a bit of risk. 

        Needs must, Arthur sighed inwardly.

        "Hammer Arm!" Mrs. Auclair shouted fiercely. 

        Arthur took a deep breath and waited, not giving a single command, until Pangoro got within range. 

        "Thunder Wave!" Arthur countered. 

        A bright yellow ring of electrical energy materialized before Finn, gathering more power before it was launched toward the charging Pangoro, followed by a multitude of other rings behind it. With a grin, Pangoro suddenly vanished, leaving several afterimages of himself in his wake. There was a loud crash seconds after the timer went off, indicating the end of the test. Finn lay in a heap on the ground, clearly out of sorts. Arthur bowed his head and sagged his shoulders as he returned Finn. Though he didn't win, clapping was heard from the students as well as Mrs. Auclair, catching him off guard. 

        "That was a close call there, Mr. Herrick. I almost fell for that little trick," Mrs. Auclair said with a chuckle. "Even though you lost, you managed to hold out for the full five minutes. That Hammer Arm would have connected earlier had you not diverted Pangoro like you did."

        Arthur blinked at these words. Replaying the scene in his mind, he remembered seeing the clock go down to four seconds just before he used Thunder Wave. With a sigh of relief, he placed Finn back on his belt and bowed respectfully to his teacher. 

        "It was fun battling you, Mrs. Auclair. Thank you for the lesson," he stated before turning and exiting the arena. 

        "You did a fine job, Mr. Herrick. Keep up the good work," she added with a smile. 

        As Arthur left, Fiametta stepped onto the battlefield and prepared herself to face off against her own disadvantage. Arum waited impatiently for her adversary to arrive. 

        "Okay Miss Minervae, I've a little something special in store for you for your examination," Mrs. Auclair declared as she reached for the Ultra Ball on her hip and expanded it. 

        Giving it a toss, she released a truly horrifying opponent for Arum. The haunted decor that was Chandelure, hovered aloft ominously, her ghoulish yellow gaze fixing Arum with a bone-chilling stare. Fiametta's confident expression seemed to waver for a moment, only to revert back to her usual smug look. 

       "The honor is yours, Miss Minervae," Mrs. Auclair proclaimed. 

        "Very well then, Arum, Seed Bomb!"

        "That was some test huh?" Magnum sighed as he rolled up beside Arthur in the cafeteria. 

        "I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get through that one," Arthur admitted sheepishly. 

        Magnum nodded, showing he understood. It wasn't an easy exam considering all of Mrs. Auclair's Pokémon were outfitted with incredible fighting capabilities. It was anyone's guess how he too managed to pass. 

        "Still... Fiametta did far better than anyone. Arum survived the match even though she sustained a lot of injuries," Arthur said, digging into his occa berry curry and rice. 

        "That's because she's had a lot of tutoring," came the voice of Estelle as she and Victor sat down across from the duo. 

        "Hey guys, what's up?" Magnum asked through a mouthful of his Tauros burger. 

        "Just getting ready for gymnastics this afternoon. We've got a show in a few weeks and coach wants us to be ready. You know how that goes," Estelle said casually. 

        "Estelle... you said she had a lot of tutoring," Arthur paused, setting down his spoon to look at her, "if you don't mind me asking, who did she learn from?"

        "She learned from a few gym leaders actually," Estelle informed, taking a sip of the milkshake she bought and setting it down. "Gardenia was one of them. Off topic, she gets most of her clothing from Elesa's exclusive line. She's just stupid rich like that."

        "You say that so casually it's astounding," Victor pointed out. 

        "When you've known her as long as I have, you kinda get used to it," Estelle replied with a shrug. 

        "No wonder she's so good," Magnum said, taking a sip of his oran berry juice. 

        "That's incredible," Arthur said with a nervous laugh, "I can't imagine being taught by gym leaders personally."

        "Says the guy whose sister is a pro," Estelle retorted with a sly grin. 

        "That's... fair," Arthur said in a defeated tone. 

        The four continued to converse, each laying out the plans they had for their day during the half hour lunch they all shared. Soon, lunch was over and it was time for the next period to start. After a lengthy lecture on the history of Kalos, the bell rang and school was let out for the day. Students jubilantly exited the building, each going to either their dorms or various clubs that they were apart of. Arthur was finally able to sit down at the fountain after a long day. He'd let Finn and Ōmukade out for some fresh air. Finn hovered around the fountain while Ōmukade found some shrubbery to explore. 

        Popping open his text book, Arthur began to read over the lesson that was given in class. It was quite possibly the longest lecture he'd ever been given. So much material had been covered he hadn't had time to process it all properly. As he dove into the chapter, a shadow was cast over the book, prompting him to pause a moment to address whoever was behind him. 

        "Looks like I'm not the only one who felt bombarded with too much information," came Holly's voice from behind as she leaned down to look over his shoulder. 

        "Err... well... yeah, it was a bit long-winded to say the least. I'm just going back over it since we have a test in two weeks," Arthur told the brunette who took the liberty of sitting beside him and setting her bag down. 

        "Ugh, I know. His tests are usually very long and super difficult sometimes. You almost have to read everything and treat the test like a final because of how difficult he makes it," Holly groaned. "Makes me sorta jelly that you and Fiametta are study buddies," Holly said with a devious smirk. 

        "I wouldn't exactly call us 'buddies.' More like... acquaintances at the very least," Arthur replied, setting his book down to talk. 

        "You keep telling yourself that," Holly giggled, standing up to stretch. 

        "And what's that supposed to mean?" Arthur asked, arching a brow in confusion. 

        "Oh nothing, don't worry about it. Anywho, just thought I'd pop by and say hi since we never officially got to meet. We'll have to talk again sometime. Later cutie!" she called over her shoulder as she walked away. 

        Arthur fumbled with his words as she sauntered off. Regaining his composure, he opened his book again and attempted to get back to his studies, all the while fighting with the plethora of confusing thoughts Holly planted in his mind.